Vapor electric apparatus.



W. R. WHITNEY.

VAPOR ELEGTRIG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00131, 1904.

901 ,506, Patented Oct. 20, 1908;

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1 INVENTOR: Q14 Willis IRKVVhifinefy,

WILLIS R. WHITNEY,

OF SCHEN IJOTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC GOMPAN Y, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VAPOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 31, 1904.sci-m No. mam.

recanted Oct. 26, mos.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIS 1t. VVnrrNnY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vapor ElectricApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The invention herein described relates more especially to vapor electricdevices such mercury vapor rectifiers, lamps, or the 1 {BL The inventioncomprises certain improvements in the construction of apparatus of thecharacter mentioned, and its novel features are pointed out withparticularity in the appended claims.

For a better understanding of the invention itself, both as to itsdetails of construction and mode of operation, reference may be had tothe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, which, by Way of illustration, represents my invention asembodied in a singlephase mercury vapor rectifier.

The exhausted envelop of the rectifier,

preferably of glass, may of course assume a variety of shapes. Intheform shown it consists mainly of a cylindrical vessel 1 having adepending contracted portion 2.

The negative electrode or cathode of the rectifier consists of a body ofmercury 3 contained in a glass tube 4, the lower end of which is closedby an iron cap 5 sealed about the same. This sealing operation isperformed, while the parts are hot, by blowing the glass into contactwith the metal and then allowing the same to cool. The metal thenshrinks tightly about the glass and being thin enough to stretch forms atight joint therewith and without exerting a dangerous pressure upon theglass. About one one-hundredth of an inch is a suitable thickness ofmetal to employ. In a similar manner, an open-ended iron tube 6 ,issealed about the lower end of the depending member 2 of the rectifierand about the upper end of the glass tube 4, and thus holds the parts inposltion. The opposite ends of the tubes 2 and 4 do not come togetherbut leave a pprtion of theinner surface of the iron tn 6 ex osed asat'7. This portion of the iron tube I utilize as a starting electrode.-

The main positive electrodes or anodes of '55 the apparatus arecontained in the lowerportion of the envelop. 1 and consist of thinmetal caps 8 and 9 sealed respectively about the lower ends of thereentrant tubes 10 and 11 forming a portion of the walls of therectifier envelop. These iron caps are sealed about the tubes in amanner already described with respect to cap 5. The lower ends of thetubes 10 and 11 are open so as to aii'ord access to the inner ends ofthe caps. Bodies of mercury are contained in the tubes as at 12 and 13,and thus make contact with the exposed portions of said caps.

Electrical connection with the anodes is conveniently made by means ofmetal tubes 14 and 15 extendin tubes 10 and 11 an? dipping into thebodies of mercury 12 and 13. These tubes 14 and 15 perform not only thefunction of eurrent-conveying leads for the ap aratus, but serve also asconduits to circu ate coolin fluid down the tubes to the to 000% themand the adjacent parts and prevent them from reaching excessivetemperatures. To this end the pipes 14 and 15, where they dip into themercury, are open both at their lower ends and also at the holes punchedas at 16 and 17. These tubes 14 and 15 pass up into the lower ends ofvertically arranged pipes 18 and 19 and then out through the walls ofthe same to a radiator consisting of numerous turns of pipe as at 20.The continuation of each pipe 14 and 15 is thus coiled to form aradiator and finally passes into the top of the respective pipes 18 and19. Two lndependent fluidcirculating systems are thus provided.

As the apparatus operates, heat is conveyed to the fluid, such as water,surrounding for example the pipe 14, and the fluid thereupon rises andpasses up through the axially along the glass pipe 18 which, of course,is fitted through a sto per or other connection into the upper en of thetube 10. The heated fluid, con- I In connecting up thejapparatus foroperarinthea and 22. This (particular mode of operation is not new anrequires no special description.

The starting electrode, consisting of the iron tube 7, is connected,durin starting,

. through a resistance 27 to one o the alternating current supply leadssuch as 22. When the switch 28 in the starting electrode circuit isclosed and the apparatus is shaken so as to cause the mercury 3 to maketemporary contact with the inner wall of the tube 7 an initial arc isproduced which, in a manner already known to those skilled in the art,causes the main .arcs to start in the rectifierbetween the cathode andthe main anodes 12 and 13.

It is evidentthat various modifications in the embodiment of myinvention may be made without departing from the s irit thereof, forwhich reason I do not Wis to be limited to the details shown anddescribed. 1

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is,

1. In a vapor electric device, a glass member contalnlng mercury,constituting one electrode, and a metal tube sealed about said member inproximity to said mercury and having an exposed portion constitutinganother electrode.

2. In a vapor electric device, a vitreous envelop formed incommunicating parts, a metal shell tightly clasping the two parts so asto be under tension and so as to connect said parts so as to form animpervious joint therewith, a portion of the metalshell being exposed toform an electrode, and a 00- operating electrode located in one of theparts of the envelop.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of October,1904:.

WILLIS R. WHITNEY.

\Vitnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN Onrom).

